Treating of hydrocarbon oil



Patented .June 9, 1925. i la vuurrso stares Param" S .PHILI COBLENTZ, OF BAYTOWN, AND lSilfiiWAItD Y, COLEMAN, OF CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS, ASSIGNORS T HUMBLE OIL AND REFINING COMYANY, A. CORPORATION OF TEXAS.

TREATING OF lHYDRQCARBON OIL.

l Application led December 3 1, 1920.-e Serial No. 434,393. Y To all .'wlzom it may'concem! is for the purpose of forming an emulsion Be it known that we, S PxrimrCoBuEN'r-Z, of suitable acidity or alkalinity to insure a citizen of the United States, residing at the presence of a liquid f relatively great Baytown, in the county of Harris and State electrical .conductivity in order to facili- -of Texas, A and STEWART P. COLEMAN, a tate the cataphoretic action to which the 60 citizen of the United States, residing at emulsion is subsequently subjected. Corpus Christi, in the co nty of Nueces Agitation is now stopped and the batch and State of Texas, have invented new and allowed. to settle when the remaining acid useful Improvements in the .Treating of sludge will precipitate rapidly and the super- Hydrocarbon Oil, of which the following is natant oil emulsion may be pumped ed to 65 aspecitication. receive treatment in -the apparatus herein- This invention relates to processes for after described. purifying oils and is more particularly re- 1 designates a settling chamber of lated tothe sepa-ration and removal of imusual construction having a steam coil 2 in purities such as unsaturated -compounds, Athe bottom thereof. "A -water and sludge 70 soaps, sulfonates, resins, oxidation products outlet 3 is provided near the base of the A and those tending to produce emulsions, and'chamber and an oil outlet 4 is located M1- will be fully understood from the following jacent the upper portion. XThe upper pordeSQI-ption thereoi tion of' he settling chamber 1 is formed into 2 The removal by the present method of the a cylindrical extension 5 having an annular 75 impurities referred to tends to .impartshoulder 6, the interior of the extension 5 greater brilliancy and a better color to the being formed as a cone-shaped seat 7 openoils' and to minimize the vdegree of bloom ing into the chamber 1 through the medium in the oil. of a port 8. Resting upon the shoulder 6 Referring to .the accompanying drawing, is a gasket 9 formed of fibre or other suit- 80 the -figure illustrates a preferred form ofv able' insulating material Aand adapted to apparatus usedin carrying out several steps lnsulate the cover 10 from the said shoulder of the'present invention, the parts being 6 and to which said cover is secured by- 'shown' in section for the purpose of illusany suitable means, as for example b a tration. A plurality of. stay bolts 11 also suita ly insu- 55 A suitable agitator (not shown) is charged lated -to prevent electrical contact between with a quantity of crude or partly refined the c0ver10 and the shoulder 6.- A central petroleum oil and the oil then .blown with threaded aperture 12 extends through the any'suitable acid, such as 66 B. H,SOby cover 6 and coincides with an opening 13 air pressure or mechanical agitation, after in the gasket 9. 'A member 14 in the shape 90 which agitation the liquid is allowed to beof a cone and of such a configuration to come still and the weak acid sludge thrown present its exterior surface 15 in parallelism' down is drawn loii in the usual manner. to the seat 7 is supported in .position by a After thissludge removal a second acid threaded member 16 engaging the opening dump of greater proportions'than the'irst l1 2. This member 14 is provided with a 90 is blown in and the resulting vliquid agihand wheel 17 by means of which vertical tated for a relatively longer period than adjustmentof the member 14 may be effected the first agitation above mentioned. 'in .order to vary the distance between the A' second-period .of settling is then permembers 14 and 7, so that with emulsions mitted .of .greaterlength than the original or liquids of ditferent conductivity the thick'- -100 settling and the acid'sludge'is again drawn. ness of the film' may 'be varied to insure a e Following this step a solution of. alsalt substantially constant current there-through. of an alkali'metal-suchh as sodium chloride This variation of film thickness may beef-- or other suitablesalt in water is added to fected by the manipulation, of the hand 'the iesultant'oil'- and residual acid 'in the wheel. 17 to raise or lower the cone 14, as 105 agitator andthe Whole agitated by an air willbeobvious or steam blastv until an'emulsion is formed, -A feed pipe 20 communicates with a showing `that an intimate mechanical mix supplemental chamber'21-above the seat 7 t-ure or chemical solution has been formed. A as shown. A suitable conductor 22 extends The addition of the salt solutonto the oil from a. source of electr potential, diagram- Il.

y lmaticall illustratedat 23, toelectricalco i tact wit the cover-10, as does al'simi'la conductor 24 to the extension 5, .the membe 14 thereb seat 7 as t e other pole of an electric circuit.

The emulsion above referred to'is fed into the pipe and passes between the cone 14 and its seat 7 and isy subjected4 to` an elec- .tric current of high, potential. It has been' found preferable toemploy a direct current of from 50 to 600 volts and 3 to 5 amperes'.l It will be understood that the voltage and end upon the char- 4also simultaneously removed through' the other outlet 3.

` 'The following is an `example of thepro cess of this invention.

An agitator is charged with one thousand barrels (-gallon) of untreated 150 viscosit Saybolt Goose Creek lubricating oil disti late and such distillate .immediately acid blown by air pressure witl1'66 B. sulfuric acid in the ratio of 2.5 pounds of acid for each barrel of distillate or, in other words,

1.25 tons foreach 1,000 barrel batch. Gom.y pressed air is used to-agitate the entire con. tents for approximately i-ve minutes, after which a settllng is permitted for about half an hour vand the weak .acid sludge then drawn o..

The main acid dum ot fifteen poundsfof' acid for each lifty' gal ons of distillate or 7.5'

tons for, a thousand barrel batch, is then added, after vwhich the material is ja ain agitated vfor half an hour and allowe to settle from -ifteento thirty' minutes and the acid sludge drawn.

Two hundred barrelsl of chlorides: solution ofa stren' h of..y one to-two ounds of' salt'tsodiumch pride) for each y galfv lons of oil under treatment is noivqa'iddc'ed and v the entire batch-agitated by steam .ora-ir for-,-

live to ten minutes.

' .This addition forms aueinulsioniwhichis allowed to settle ,for half an hour and -s' then pumpedv tothe electric treatment 'apparatus above described, The cone' 14 has an'alti-.

tilde off ten iichesfand a basel 'of `fteen" inches, 4the emulsion' passing. throu space'lS in a one quarter inch Ifilm an being subjected to a direct current of ninetyvolts.

Tho-rate' of'ilow is one barrel in fifteen The oil is drawn off' through thebutlet '4 -and blown bright at a: tem}lerature of 190".'y

rough la small after which. it isA passedvt serving as one pole, and the.

the emulsion which h the cataphoretic action.

ateniese 1 vThis I,process ,gives av per cent'over similar .distillate's treated with acid', neutralized soda and scpa-ratedin the usual way. Y

' While a'specific application of this-'process has been described it is not intendedv to limit the carrying out 4oi'such process to the ex-' am e`g1ven, and theifollow'in claims are to What is'clai'med as new is: i

1. .The process 'of treating a hydrocarbon oil which consists vin subjecting the oil to treatment with acid, lseparating the acid floridan iid tiene; hundredconstrued as embodying t e process as broadlyl as the prior art will permit.

sludge, producing an emulsion of the 'oils with a :salt lsolution and subjectingsaid emulsion. to cataphoretic action.

2. The -proce'ssof treating a oil which consistsin subjecting the oil to hydrocarbon treatment vwith` acid, separating the` acid sludge, producin an emulsion of the' oil4 with a soultion -o an alkali metal salt and subjecting -gjsaid emulsion to .cataphoretic action. f

' 3. The process of treating a hydrocarbon -oil which consists in subjecting the'oil to treatment with sulfuric-acidi se arati -the acid sludge, roducingfan'emulsion :if the oil with asa t solutionvand'subjecting said emulsion to' cataphoretic action. 1

' 4. The process of treating a|hydrocarbon oil -which consists inj-subjectingthe-'oil to treatment with acid," separating the acid I sludge, producin an ,emulsion of the oil with a sodi`um ch onde solution and subjectingsaid'emulsionto cataphoretic'action.

. 5. The'processof treating a hydrocarbon foil which consists in subjecting thel oil to treatment jwith 6`6j Baume sulfuric acid,

separating the' y. acid sludge,- producing an emulsion of this-'oilI with a salt solution and subjecting said emulsion to .cataphoretic 6.."Thesprocess of,treatingr a hydrocarbon oil whicli ifnsubjecting theoil to .treatment acid, separating -the acid roducin emulsion of' the' oil sa t; solutiojjof-jap roximateds of such salt .to eac galandsubjecting-such emulsion to` 7. Th fof ,treatinga--hydrocarbon oil which consists in subjectin thel -oil to treatment with 662 lBaume-sul ric .acid iu the. proportion 'of approximately seventeen andonehalf poundSjO'f ,acid f,each fifty solution .and 'subjecting s lnnulsigmv y'to 

